McGrath steps into Lillee's shoes

Dennis Lillee had announced that he was ending his 25 year association with MRF pace foundation earlier this year. Under his guidance as many as 56 players went on to represent their country. Some of India's best fast bowlers in this time period including Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan have honed their skills at the MRF pace foundation and have been lavish in praise of its value.

Naturally the curiosity was piqued as to who could possibly succeed the legendary Aussie. The answer was to be in the question itself - a legendary Aussie. Glenn McGrath, in many ways, the successor of Lillee in Australian fast bowling history made a theatrical entry, walking out of a massive cricket ball as he was announced as the new Director of the MRF pace foundation in Chennai.

Speaking on the occasion, Lillee reminisced on his stay in India and recollected the troubles he faced when he started off. "Early on when I came here, there was no infrastructure. Everyone was doing it the wrong way and it was difficult to make change." In characteristic style he reinforced it with an interesting conversation he had with a coach in India. "Vasu used to tell me that there is a history of fast bowling in India. He told me that they were ribbon-cutters. They were used to scratch and open up the surface before the spinners came on."

Lillee, calling himself a bloody minded Australian, said "I insisted on having a swimming pool, a gymnasium, etc for the fast bowlers to train and fortunately, MRF supported me thoroughly. It would not have been possible without them."

He also stated that it at the end, it was an immensely satisfying experience for him. "The highs come when a young lad you trained goes on to become a good fast bowler for his country in a couple of years. MRF has touched not only Indian players but a lot of foreign players as well. The legacy has been left worldwide."

When asked about the legacy that he leaves behind, Lillee was thoughtful in response: "There is a better understanding of fast bowling now. There's a great understanding of what's needed to become a great fast bowler, the understanding of the hard work that needs to be put in to become one."

McGrath was all smiles throughout and began by explaining how he was giving something back to the game now after intentionally taking a break for close to five years. He was confident that he was up to the challenges ahead.

"India is one of the toughest countries to be a fast bowler but I see a lot of potential. It's definitely going to be a huge learning experience for me and I plan to bring my wife and children to give them a taste of India. The challenges are across the board."

Elucidating further on how he plans to tackle them, McGrath said that he was keen to pass on what he had as a player "I'll break down the attributes needed to be a good fast bowler. Skill is one but it will only take you that far. Attitude is the thing that will take you further. To me, that was my strength. I want to pass it on to the youngsters and hopefully make them better cricketers."

Being one himself, McGrath eagerly explained the importance of fast bowlers in any team. "A team without good fast bowlers is not very exciting to watch. To become the No 1 team in the world you have to have fast bowlers who are aggressive. You look at England, who were No 1 recently or South Africa. They have some quality fast bowlers."

Questions were asked on how he sees the younger crop of Indians especially the U-19 team. McGrath confessed that he had not seen a lot of cricket in the last few years but saw the performance as a positive. "I did see bits and pieces of the U19 World cup. It was good too see young Indian players doing well in Australian conditions at such an early age. They are not only able to perform in India but (also in) conditions that are so different from what they have here. Those are a lot of positives. We'll see what happens."

McGrath also informed that he would be officially taking over next year and that he would be coming in frequently as Lillee had been doing. "I have come over to have a feel and meet the people here rather than coming in later and getting straight into it. I feel the balance here is perfect and I don't want to be away from my family for a long time and I'm not ready to do that for any International team."

The approach was backed by Lillee himself who said that it was the right way to go about things. "It is better to have a look at the boys after a gap of three to four months. There's the head coach, Senthil, who will be working here full time. It's always good to come and have a fresh look. For me there's no use of a fast bowling coach travelling with the team. I like the way Glenn's thinking and that's how I would do it."

McGrath realized that he had massive boots to fill in. "If I can do half as good a job as Dennis has done I would be very happy."

He has managed to do it admirably for the Australian team. Only time will tell if McGrath can repeat something similar with the MRF foundation in Chennai.